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Chicken laid jelly egg today

 
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Location: Texas/Oklahoma
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So, it's Christmas Eve, and we just got home from church. The pizzas are in the oven and I just cracked open a coldie. Kids have a Christmas show from Netflix on the TV. Good times!!

Oh, yeah, gotta go check the chickens and shut the door on the coop. It's dark out, but I reach my hand around in the straw and start collecting eggs. The girls have come into full maturity this month, and we're getting good quality, consistent large eggs. We're averaging about 1 egg per day x 9 hens. I feel something cold and wet and a little slimy in the dark. Shit! I just put my hand in chicken shit and I'm still in my church clothes. Gather more eggs. Dammit! There's that pile of chicken shit again. No, wait. It's not chicken shit. It feels like something else! What is it?

Well, come to find out. It's an egg. A jelly egg. I mean it has a shell, but it's about like a soft shell crab, if any of you have eaten a soft shell. It's in an egg shape. The container holds the egg-stuff inside, but it's not an egg. It's a jelly egg.

I don't even know how to begin researching this one.

Has anyone ever had a chicken lay a jelly egg? What's it called? What do I do?
 
pollinator
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Location: Victoria BC
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Disconcerting, huh?

A few things can lead to this, a couple of lists to peruse here:
http://www.backyardpoultrymag.com/causes-and-cures-for-soft-shelled-and-shell-less-eggs/
https://poultrykeeper.com/egg-problems/soft-thin-or-missing-egg-shells/
 
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shell-less egg

common for new in production pullets to lay one or two before they get firing on all 8 cylinders

stress from a real scary event can cause this as well

make sure to have free choice oyster shell available and enjoy eating your "jelly" egg
 
Tim Flood
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Thanks for the feedback. All eggs today looked strong & normal. I'm going to chalk it up to "one of those things" but I'm going to make sure I've got shells and oyster shells out for them. I need to make sure to improve on their care in that area.

Sadly, I didn't eat the jelly egg. I was kind of weirded out about it, so I threw it in the compost before I read your response. I didn't even think about eating it.

Thanks again for your replies.
 
If you two don't stop this rough-housing somebody is going to end up crying. Sit down and read this tiny ad:
the permaculture bootcamp in winter (plus half-assed holidays)
https://permies.com/t/149839/permaculture-projects/permaculture-bootcamp-winter-assed-holidays
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